Too many companies use one-shot training.  They hire a flashy speaker to get employees jazzed up about customer service.  They hold rallies or give great locker-room speeches and hope for the best.  Without follow-up, things quickly get back to normal.

- Dr. Paul R. Timm, Seven Power Strategies for Building Customer Loyalty

Innovators persistently leverage why and why-not questions to acquire critical insights.

- Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton M. Christensen, The Innovator's DNA

It's true that many…marketing channels are primarily geared toward reaching current and potential customers, but you should also endeavor to reach another very important constituency through your full-spectrum marketing efforts—your employees.

-Kirk Kazanjian, Driving Loyalty

Said by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, "The Rule of expectations uses expectations to influence reality and create results." The problems that are encountered are when people fulfill these expectations negatively. Why is this? We all make decisions based on what others expect of us. If you are a clear and precise communicator, disciplined to the point of ensuring your expectations are completely understood both in principle and delivery, then this blog is probably not going to highlight much for you. However, for the many of us in the customer service world, both as a provider and/or a consumer, there seems to be lots of room for improvement.

The idea that prompted this week's topic is the onset of our company retreat. Our company's executive team consists of individuals living in five different states, as well as four additional locations within one state. We are a team that works virtually. Getting together face-to-face is so important for not only our morale, but also for team building to ensure that our purpose aligns with our personal wants and needs, individually, and as a team. 

Over the years, we have worked with many teams where there was not a clear purpose, focus, or mission. These are the key ingredients or characteristics that will sustain high levels of team motivation, which translates into a unified and rewarding team experience.

In the service industry, awareness is a must. You have to be fully aware and fully present to give the level of service that makes people take notice and want more.  Walt Disney ~ "Do what you do SO WELL that they will want to see it again and BRING THEIR FRIENDS." Chances are your customers are doing business with some of the world's finest service organizations, and because of that, your company's service experiences will be compared. So you need to ask yourself, how do we measure up in comparison?